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by Curt Kovener

Despite what some have predicted, COVID-19 hasn’t gone away with summer or fall or the general election. In fact, it’s only gotten worse and now holds Indiana and Jackson and Scott County in its ever-tightening and potentially deadly grasp. We were advised by medical professionals to not gather with family for last week’s Thanksgiving. I hope you followed that guidance as my family did.
Every day, the number of new cases ticks higher. Every day, new deaths are reported. Every day, more are hospitalized in our already exhausted health care facilities. And, yet, every day comments across social media and in personal discussions express doubt about the existence of the disease or the very real consequences it can impart on a society that does not take it seriously.
A society that could simply do its part by wearing a mask and social distancing arrogantly doesn’t.
There are too many people who allow their religious and political views to trump medical science and common sense. The most recent Supreme Court ruling that government can’t tell churches not to meet for health reasons will embolden churches and ramp up COVID cases. Isn’t that a peculiar twist on Pro- Life?
Science has proven masks are effective in slowing the spread of the disease. Social distancing and self-isolating are proven to lower the risk of infection. Yet some will not do what is required to slow the coronavirus.
If you are among this group, it’s unlikely that anything said here will change your mind. So let us appeal to your heart.
If the spread of this virus continues, there will be fewer stockings on the mantel at Christmas. There will be brides who walk down the aisle in the years to come without their fathers. There will be seniors who graduate from high school without their mothers.
Maybe your heart is cold enough that these scenarios don’t faze you. So, let us appeal to whatever part of you it is that makes claims about freedoms or the economy or whatever reason you cling to that gives you the gall to not wear a mask and follow distancing guidelines. Maybe you think you’re 10-foot tall and bullet-proof and won’t get the virus.
If we do not stop this virus with these simple measures, there will be more shutdowns. Town and city halls have already closed. Community Christmas parades have been canceled. More businesses will close. More people will lose their jobs. More consumer products will become increasingly hard to find. What does that do for your freedoms or the economy?
This country must divorce itself from its “me first” attitude. It’s sickening and killing your fellow Americans… people who are your neighbors, your friends and your family.
And if your maskless face is being shown in public for economic reasons, then consider: some of a litigious nature whom you sicken can file a civil complaint against you in court on a complaint of ‘contributory neglience’. And while the case drags on, your savings will get drained paying your defense costs.
A mask, a little consideration and a little sacrifice can keep the blood off your hands.